Monday, January 7, 2013

Gangster Squad is an enjoyable movie that is "inspired" by true events. Although a lot of the actual events did happen, there is definitely a Hollywood flavor to everything about this movie. From the stylized production, the over the top personalities, and the action sequences, it's clearly a loose take on what should have been a very interesting and insightful window into LA's secret gang squad. It's an action-packed "summer" movie with a good sense of style. It started strong but the plot soon became plodding and predictable. I really wish that the filmmakers had been a little more true to the source material. Overall, I liked it, but after seeing the trailers and reading about the back story, I definitely wanted to love it.

Rent it.

For more reference, here is a 7-part LA Times story about the real gangster squad. It's definitely worth a read: